Trilobites are remarkable, hard-shelled creatures that lived some 400 to 500 million years ago in Earth's ancient seas. Trilobites represent the single most diverse class of extinct organisms. Throughout the 270 million years they inhabited the oceans, they continued to evolve into various species, leading to a great deal of diversity in their size, form and function. This means there is a wide variety of trilobite fossils to collect! One of the most appealing factors about trilobite fossils is that you can hold and examine an entire fossil animal as you turn it about in your hand.

Colors

Brown, black, gray, pink, may be brassy if pyritized

Trilobite Classification

Common Name

Trilobite

Species

NA

Variety

Colors

Brown, black, gray, pink, may be brassy if pyritized

Alternate Names

Gemstone Groups

Key Separations

Appearance

Comments

Trilobites fossils are extinct marine arthropods. The oldest known fossils are from 521 million years ago and went extinct about 250 million years ago.